Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty
Chapter 561: Alexander’s Provocation (Double-Length)

Brazil and Italy were both volleyball powerhouses on the global stage, and they had faced each other many times in major international competitions.

Interestingly, in national-level tournaments like the Olympics or World Championships over the past ten years, Brazil had an overwhelming advantage against Italy, with a win rate of over 80%. However, in club-level tournaments like the Club World Championship, it was Italy that maintained an 80% win rate against Brazil.

"The average height of these two teams is about the same," Loser mused as he studied the player handbook. "Taichi, who do you think has the upper hand?"

"No idea. Let's watch a bit first."

Kaedehara Taichi didn't jump to any conclusions lightly.

Just as Conti and Loser had grown significantly over the past six months and San Juan had steadily built around Taichi as their ace, São Paulo must have done the same.

A rapidly evolving Hinata Shōyō, a reborn Wallace at his peak, and Yoandy in his prime—no matter how you looked at them, São Paulo was a formidable team. Meanwhile, Trentino…though Taichi had never watched them play live, the fact that they'd won four consecutive titles in the Italian SuperLega spoke for itself.

-----

The serve switched. São Paulo to serve.

Lucas launched a powerful jump serve!

A high-angle jump serve with sidespin curved sharply and, in the blink of an eye, flew toward Trentino's back row.

Smack!

Libero Fabio lunged right, dropped his centre of gravity, and received the ball cleanly—a perfect pass!

Kageyama Tobio jumped to set from the front row, and Alexander was already soaring on the right wing!

Whoosh!—

Position, timing, angle—flawless!

BOOM!!!

The ball exploded past Souza and Yoandy's block at lightning speed!

"I always knew…somewhere in the world, there must be someone else who can hit this kind of ball with you."

"So—"

Hinata flashed forward, appearing right in front of the ball!

Smack!!!

The ball popped high—a pass only half on target!

Fernando scrambled into position and set high to the right side. The middle blocker Souza jumped to spike!

"Alex!"

Zaytsev shouted. Alexander hadn't expected that this nearly "blindspot killer" shot would actually get dug up.

"Double block!"

Even as thoughts flashed through Alexander's mind, his body reacted on instinct. He leapt up alongside Zaytsev.

WHIFF!

Souza's swing cut through empty air.

"I knew it'd be you."

Wallace suddenly soared from the back row. Zaytsev jumped again to block!

BOOM!!!

The ball narrowly slipped past Zaytsev's right side, landing precisely on Trentino's sideline before bouncing out.

Wallace scored!

[São Paulo 2 - 0 Trentino]

"Taichi, Wallace's control over his shots has gotten even sharper, hasn't it?"

"Yeah."

Taichi pushed Loser's face away. "Don't get so close."

This guy really was a monster. If Zaytsev hadn't been the one blocking, that ball might have gone right over the block…In their last match against São Paulo, Wallace had made several errors under block pressure. Now, he could execute such vicious angles.

"Damn, the World Championship really is too fun."

Taichi's eyes gleamed with excitement.

Oikawa looked over, speechless.

"You literally just finished a match this morning…You really are an insatiable monster."

-----

São Paulo continued serving.

Lucas launched his second serve.

BOOM!!!

The ball rocketed straight toward Yuri.

Smack!

Yuri managed to get under it, barely keeping the ball up.

"Cover!"

Kageyama kept a calm expression as he moved in and set the ball.

Whoosh!—

The ball flew smooth and fast, as if untouched by the imperfect first pass!

Zaytsev sprinted in from the right side and leapt!

"Triple block!" Fernando, Yoandy, and Souza all jumped to form São Paulo's strongest blocking wall!

—BOOOM!!!

The ball over the block.

Hinata, positioned in the back row, bent his knees, eyes locked on Zaytsev.

THUD!!!

"—?!"

The ball slammed down right at Hinata's feet and bounced high.

It wasn't just the over-the-block swing that was terrifying—it was the sheer speed!

Zaytsev scored!

[São Paulo 2 - 1 Trentino]

"So fast…" Santiago muttered.

To a libero, the World Championship was a terrifying stage. Monstrous serves and spikes appeared one after another.

The serve switched. Trentino to serve.

Zaytsev tossed the ball high and launched a powerful jump serve!

BOOM!!!

SMACK!

Wallace received it, though only a half-accurate pass.

The ball soared high. Fernando stabilised in the front row to set.

Whoosh—!

The ball floated toward centre court. Yoandy leapt to spike!

"Double block!"

Ryan and Alexander jumped together.

BOOM!!!

The ball deflected off Ryan's arms and flew far out of bounds.

Boro chased but couldn't save it.

Touch out. Yoandy scored!

[São Paulo 3 - 1 Trentino]

"Their block is so tall," Bruno commented. "Feels almost like Nizhnev."

"If we're talking about pure individual blocking ability, they're just as good," Conte explained, pointing at Trentino's opposite Boro and setter Kageyama. "But those two don't have the height, so they prioritise serve-receive stability. That's why Trentino usually doesn't go for triple blocks like Nizhnev does."

"So, in a way…Trentino is a lot like us."

Conte paused, realising it was true. No wonder Trentino felt so troublesome—they were a team eerily similar to themselves.

-----

The serve switched again. São Paulo to serve.

Fernando targeted Kageyama with a powerful jump serve!

They had immediately recognised Trentino's organisational core. Against this kind of team, they already had plenty of experience.

SMACK!

Kageyama received it—a half-accurate pass.

They had thought Fernando's serve wouldn't be too threatening, so Trentino hadn't included their front-row players in serve-receive. But São Paulo cleverly targeted the setter, disrupting Trentino's attack rhythm.

Boro moved in to support. The ball flew to the right side. Alexander jumped to spike!

"Triple block!" Yoandy, Souza, and Wallace leapt together—São Paulo's strongest block!

BOOM!!!—

Smack!

The ball brushed Souza's fingertips and sailed far out of bounds.

After a brief hesitation, the head referee blew the whistle, then signalled with a chopping motion along the back of the hand—indicating a touch-out.

Touch out. Alexander scored!

[São Paulo 3 - 2 Trentino]

"So precise…so close…"

The replay showed that if Alexander had been even a moment later, the ball would have missed completely.

"Lucky shot, Alex," Fabio teased.

"What luck? That's skill!" Alexander retorted indignantly. "Watch closely—I'll do it again next point!"

The serve switched. Trentino to serve.

Alexander scanned the sidelines before serving, a faint smirk appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"Let me show you how it's done!"

"Tweet!—"

As the whistle blew, the ball was tossed into the air. Alexander ran up and jumped high, eyes locked on São Paulo's court.

—BOOOM!!!

THUD!!!

The ball slammed down in the very centre of São Paulo's court.

No touch ace!

Alexander scored directly!

[São Paulo 3 - 3 Trentino]

"???"

"What was that?!"

"128 km/h!!!"

"The ball skimmed just above the net on an extremely low arc, then dropped sharply into the centre of the São Paulo formation—none of their players even reacted!"

"Taichi, just now…I think he looked at you," Loser whispered.

"Yeah."

Kaedehara Taichi nodded calmly.

Alexander's serve was powerful, but that power wasn't only about pure speed.

While 128 km/h was insane, Taichi could achieve even higher speeds himself. But with extreme speed came a deadly double-edged sword—like a wild horse, the ball charged straight toward the baseline, its vertical drop far slower than its horizontal trajectory. It would often land perilously close to the end line, blurring the line between precision and error.

For almost every player, each ultra-fast serve felt like walking a tightrope, the margin between perfection and failure razor-thin. A tiny misjudgment, and the ball would whistle past the baseline, turning a deadly weapon into a giveaway point in an instant.

But this serve that landed dead centre was different. It retained extreme speed yet avoided the risk of going out.

"That top-spin is outrageous," Oikawa said, his expression tense. It was a serve type he himself excelled at—but he couldn't match that monstrous speed.

"So… there's no risk at all?" Loser asked in shock. After all, he was the textbook example of someone who increased serve speed only to suffer frequent errors.

"Impossible. Any serve pushing to the absolute limit carries risk," Taichi said, face still impassive. "His arc is very low. Even the slightest miscalculation, and he'd smash it straight into the net."

"Oh~ that's fine, then." Loser breathed a sigh of relief.

"However—" Taichi continued. "What we call 'risk' is merely a reflection of imperfect technique. Just like how, for ordinary players, sharp cross-court and line shots are risky, but for top-level hitters, they control those lines perfectly."

-----

Alexander stepped up to the service line again.

"That's what true skill means!"

BOOOM!!!

Alexander unleashed a second serve!

"That bastard!"

Libero Sanhos dove forward in a full sprawl.

SMACK!

The ball hit his arms and shot under the net, landing in Trentino's court.

Failed to save it!

Alexander scored another service ace!

[São Paulo 3 - 4 Trentino]

"Oh! You actually managed to touch my serve so quickly!" Alexander elegantly brushed back his golden hair. "Commendable!"

"This narcissist…" Fabio sighed, covering his eyes.

Trentino continued serving.

"So this is Kageyama's former teammate?" Alexander now locked his gaze onto Hinata Shōyō. "Interesting little shrimp…He's probably the shortest attacker at this World Championship, right?"

BOOM!!!—

The ball rocketed straight at Hinata.

"The ball slowed down? No…that's not it!"

Though it was his first time facing Alexander, Hinata felt a strangely familiar sensation.

"No way it's that simple!"

As soon as the ball crossed the net, it dipped sharply. Hinata stepped forward to receive, but at the moment of contact, he forcefully shifted his weight backwards.

SMACK!!!

Hinata tumbled backwards several times. As expected, the ball carried an unexpected horizontal spin!

"Cover!"

"Nice receive!" Taichi couldn't help but praise him aloud.

Objectively speaking, the ball flew out of bounds after Hinata's dig—definitely not what most would call "beautiful."

But against this unknown serve, Hinata had first stepped forward to guard against sudden directional changes during its drop. Then, upon contact, he shifted backwards to absorb the impact and guide the rebound skyward as much as possible.

This was the product of countless matches—a testament to his volleyball IQ.

-----

"That idiot finally doesn't look like a clueless airhead anymore," Kageyama muttered, though the corners of his lips curled into a faint smile.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Fabio shot him a side-eye, silently roasting him inside.

The ball flew out to the right sideline. Setter Fernando couldn't reach it, but Wallace stepped in to set.

Whooosh—!

The ball arced high to the left wing. It wasn't fast, but it was perfectly placed.

Thud!

Yoandy leapt for a spike!

"Double block!" Yuri and Ryan jumped together.

BOOM!!!

The ball slipped past the left side of the block and smashed into Kageyama's arm, bouncing far out.

Yoandy scored!

[São Paulo 4 - 4 Trentino]

—"What coordination!"

—"Even after coming out of retirement, Wallace's sets are still so stable. Seems like that one-year break didn't affect him at all."

"Wallace," Yoandy called calmly.

"Shut up, I know it was a bit low," Wallace grumbled. "You still managed to spike it anyway."

"Mr. Wallace—"

"Shut it. You don't get to talk here." Wallace pressed one hand on Hinata's head, turning him away.

"I just wanted to compliment you…" Hinata muttered under his breath.

The serve switched. São Paulo to serve.

Yoandy walked to the service line. Yuri dropped back. Trentino formed an L-shaped four-man reception pattern.

"Tweet!—"

Yoandy tossed the ball, took his approach, jumped, and smashed it!

BOOM!!!

The ball zeroed in on Kageyama.

Smack!!!

Kageyama struggled to receive it, the pass only half on target.

Boro moved in to support. Ryan ran for a quick attack from the middle!

"Double block!" Souza and Wallace jumped together.

BOOM!!!

Ryan avoided the block and swung hard.

Smack!

A third pair of hands appeared to the right of the double block, and the ball was pushed high!

"What?!!"

"He can block too?!"

Sanhos easily dug the ball up. Fernando jumped to set.

Hinata sprinted left immediately after landing, while Wallace charged in from the right.

Cross run—double quick!

"After all, this guy is an outside hitter…"

Out of courtesy, Boro followed Hinata closely, jumping to block in front of him. Wallace, on the other hand, faced a double block from Yuri and Ryan.

Whoosh!—

The ball flew high to the left wing. Hinata swung his arm and spiked!

BAM!!!

"This guy… so fast!"

The ball slipped past Boro's right side and slammed nearly vertically into Trentino's three-meter line.

Hinata scored!

[São Paulo 5 - 4 Trentino]

For a moment, the entire arena fell silent.

Reception, block, spike…

"Hey, that little guy is crazy strong, huh?"

"Hehe—" São Paulo fans leaned back in satisfaction. "That's our ninja, Shōyō!"

_________

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